Chapter 21 21
POV LOIS
The first thing I did was open my eyes, realizing that far too many people were looking at me—surrounding me. It was strange; having so much attention on me was uncomfortable. I felt a hurricane of doubts flooding me, but they weren’t mine.
The strongest stare came from Alpha Joseph. It burned on my skin.
“Step aside. If she’s awake, leave us alone.”
That was Ezequiel’s voice.
They were all in my bedroom.
I couldn’t believe it—how embarrassing!
My father’s frightened face approached me, pressing a kiss to my hand. I touched his cheek and opened my mouth to call for him, but halfway through the word I changed my mind. I didn’t want to scare him even more.
This situation wasn’t just overwhelming for me—it was overwhelming for them too.
“We’ll be right outside, sweetheart,” my mother assured me, offering a timid but encouraging smile.
“How do you feel? Are you alright?”
A hard mask shaped his face, leaving an expression I had never seen on Ezequiel. Although, now that I thought about it, he had worn something similar the last time we saw each other on the train, when they were speaking with Viviana.
“I’m fine,” I said. I couldn’t stand seeing that expression, so I looked away. “I feel better.”
A blatant lie. I felt worse than before. I didn’t even feel capable of getting out of this bed—my body hurt everywhere, even places you wouldn’t imagine could hurt.
But I pretended to be strong, or I knew I’d feel even worse.
Ezequiel laid a hand on my forehead, and feeling the heat radiating from me, he leaned toward the door and called for my father.
“She needs a doctor. Her fever seems very high.”
A doctor?!
Was he insane?! Did he not realize how much it costs to bring a doctor to the house?
Doctors were already expensive on their own—we would drown in debt!
“I’m fine, Dad!” I shouted toward the door, clutching my throat when it turned painfully dry after that last word. Ezequiel rushed to grab the glass on my nightstand. He lifted it to my lips, helping me drink.
“I’m fine, Ezequiel. It’s just a bit of fever.”
“You must be hurting everywhere, Lois. You need to be checked by a doctor before we leave.”
“Leave?”
What was he talking about?
“Leave where? I told you I’m fine. Don’t you understand?”
“Sir.”
A young man appeared in the doorway. He approached Ezequiel immediately. “What do you need?”
“Bring a doctor to this house at once. Lois needs to be examined before we leave.”
“Yes, sir. What about her parents?”
“They should have everything ready by now. You’ll take them home.”
“Very well. I’ll bring the doctor first, then make sure her parents are ready. We might leave before you do.”
“That’s possible. It’ll depend on how bad Lois is.”
“I’m fine! Why are you talking like I’m not right here?!”
“I’m sorry, Lois.”
He didn’t look at me—just continued talking to that young man about who-knows-what.
My parents weren’t going anywhere. This was their home. What was Ezequiel talking about? And where exactly did he think he was taking me?
I started to feel dizzy, fighting to keep my eyes open, but the pain wasn’t easing. I felt weak, aching, and the fever only made everything worse.
He was speaking to me again, but his words hung in the air—I couldn’t focus on them, not while feeling like this.
“Lois.”
Someone was touching my hair.
“Lois.”
I opened my eyes sluggishly.
There it was again—Ezequiel’s frown.
What was wrong with this guy?
“I don’t like it,” I muttered, staring at the lines forming on his forehead. “I don’t like that expression on you, Ezequiel.”
I was starting to feel a bit stronger.
“Do you want me not to worry? Then don’t complain about my expression. You’ve been unconscious all day. The safest and quickest option is to take you to Emmanuel—and he’s worse than you, Lois. We have to go to Liberty University.”
“E-Emmanuel isn’t well? So that’s why he couldn’t come… right?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m here. I came to take you to him. As long as you agree, Lois. And I really hope you agree.”
The idea of accepting Emmanuel as my mate and then distancing myself, believing this would fade, had been a failure, because this wasn’t an error anymore—it was real.
He was my mate.
And we accepted each other.
Then why… why was Ezequiel giving me relief in the middle of all this? Because the only reason I wasn’t crying or shaking from the pain… was him.
Because he was close.
Was he also going to say this was a mistake? Would he cling to that even knowing the only explanation was that I was bonded to both twins?
I was going to lose my mind—or worse. I already was.
Ezequiel hadn’t brought it up again, but we both knew.
How was it possible that both brothers were my mates?
“And then what? When I leave, we’ll feel the same again, Ezequiel.”
“I need to explain a few things.”
“I know that new mates can barely be separated without this happening, but I thought it was a mistake.”
“That’s why you accepted Emmanuel. You thought it would fade. But that’s not what I was going to explain, Lois.”
“Then what? What were you going to tell me?”
“Emmanuel is the heir to be Alpha of our pack, Lois.”
Why they would choose one twin over the other when there were two… well, that wasn’t my business.
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“Lois…” He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding my eyes. “You are the future Luna of the pack.”
Let’s see…
Wait…
I was understanding it, but…